Introduction

We want your views on how to tackle air pollution in Portsmouth.

We're developing a 15-year Clean Air Strategy (2025–2040) that sets out how we aim to improve air quality in the city. Have your say to help us develop a strategy that works for everyone.
Clean air is essential for health and wellbeing. The air we breathe and the quality of that air affects us all, whether we live, work, study or play in the city. Portsmouth City Council is committed to improving air quality across the city for the benefit of current and future generations. Minimising air pollution levels will bring significant and lasting benefits - with positive effects on public health, economic development, and population wellbeing, as well as making the city a nicer place in which to spend time.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called air pollution (both indoor and outdoor) 'the biggest environmental risk to health'. There is strong evidence that air pollution causes the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and lung cancer, exacerbates asthma and has a contributory role in mortality.

In 2023, the proportion of adult deaths attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution in Portsmouth was estimated to be 5.2% (around 1 in 20 deaths), the same as the value for England as a whole. In previous years, the proportion was higher in Portsmouth than in England. Ongoing monitoring will confirm if this improvement is a downward trend.

Air quality affects everyone, but there are inequalities in exposure, and air pollution has the greatest impact on the most vulnerable. Those who are the most susceptible to the effects of air pollution are children, older people, those with long-term health conditions, and those living close to main roads where pollution is worst.

The Clean Air Strategy 2025 - 2040 presents a new mission for cleaner air in the city:

Everyone in Portsmouth should be able to breathe air that does not damage their health and wellbeing. We will:

• Prevent sources of pollution

• Limit exposure to pollution

• Protect the most vulnerable

The UK government sets regulatory standards for air quality, against which we assess ourselves every year. World Health Organisation limits are more strict than the UK's current regulatory standards. This strategy works towards WHO limits for air pollution. While not legally binding, striving to achieve the targets set out by WHO in its Global Air Quality Guidelines will motivate Portsmouth City Council to go further and faster for the benefit of residents.

You can read the full summary of the draft Portsmouth City Council Clean Air Strategy or the full document on our webpage which will open in a new browser window so you can easily return to the survey: click here to access the full summary

This survey is open until midnight on October 3, 2025.
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